Stephanie Plum fans looking for the "latest and greatest" vivacious leading lady will be elated to find Mira James, a humorous blend of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Carrie Bradshaw, who also happens to be an amateur detective. Mira is author Jess Lourey's witty heroine in her critically acclaimed "Murder-by-Month Mystery Series" featuring the second novel "June Bug." Mira dives into a chilly Minnesota lake to investigate the story behind a local legend claiming that a diamond necklace was lost there nearly a century ago. However, she soon discovers something much more sinister than jewels underwater. A troublesome kidnapping and a nemesis from Mira's past only complicate matters, and Mira must put her snooping skills to work and find the connection between the recent kidnapping and local legend before it's too late.

June Bug

Jess Lourey
Midnight Ink (2007)
ISBN 0738709123
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (3/07)


Mira James retreats to Battle Lake, Minnesota, to recover from a bad break up. She works part-time as a reporter for the local paper and she runs the small town library. The local residents consist of some very colorful characters. Mira finds herself diving into Whiskey Lake to solve a hundred-year-old mystery of some missing diamonds. Researching further into this story, Mira discovers that the husband of the woman that hid the jewels also disappeared around the same time. The local newspaper holds a contest to draw attention to this story. Fakes jewels are planted in the lake to be found by divers; instead, Mira finds a fake body.

Mira finds herself in danger when she gets entangled in the search for these jewels. She discovers that there is more to the story with planted fake bodies, a fake shooting and a real kidnapping of a child very dear to her. Mira finds herself trying to solve the old mystery and figure out who is involved with the new one. A nemesis from Mira’s past also seems to be complicating matters.

This is the second book in a series. I look forward to going back and reading the first one. Fans of Janet Evanovich and Connie Fedderson books will love this one. There is also a section with questions for discussion for readers groups. Jess Lourey does a great job of writing a humorous, murder mystery. She gets you to like Mira and to commiserate with her while she has some bouts of bad luck. Mira’s interaction with the locals is also very entertaining. You also rally behind her as she is pursuing her interest in a man she has a major crush on. Ms. Lourey manages to combine comedic elements into a really well written story in “June Bug.” I loved how she added a bit of a gothic touch by having a secret room in a hotel. I don’t want to give anything away in this story so I will stop here and just suggest that you do not miss out on this one!